Network switch faulty?

i have a tp-link 5-port switch which has worked without a hitch for about 2 years. now there are issues - sometimes i cannot get a network connection. if i power the switch down then up again, a good connection is restored.

the set up is like this:
dsl router direct to 2 computers and the switch, then two other computers and a printer through the switch.
i have recently done a major hardware upgrade to the two machines connected to the switch, but they are both running xp as before.

can these switches develop faults?
is it on OS problem?
it happens even with only one of the computers on the switch running

yes, a switch can fail just like any other active component. I lost one port on mine but had a vacant slot so I just moved the cable to the vacant position.

fyi: the DSL Router ---> Switch is just fine, but be aware that the DHCP service of the Router is providing all the TCP/IP configuration data, even to the systems attached to the switch.

Your test for correct configuration is to run IPCONFIG /ALL on a working system and
then compare that to the results on a failing system.
Usually, it is obvious on the failing systems that the configuration is not correct.
It is possible however, that the failing system is configured correctly but still fails.

it turns out the problem was not with the switch (or the cabling) but some router issue instead. if i take the switch out of the circuit, the problem still occurs from time to time. as a quick fix, i now have a bat file containing

Code:

ipconfig /release
ipconfig /renew

with a quick launch shortcut which i can hit as needed.

works for now, given that the problem only happens say 2-3 times in a working day

of course i can't find any pattern or obvious causes of this problem...

i have a tp-link 5-port switch which has worked without a hitch for about 2 years. now there are issues - sometimes i cannot get a network connection. if i power the switch down then up again, a good connection is restored.

the set up is like this:
dsl router direct to 2 computers and the switch, then two other computers and a printer through the switch.
i have recently done a major hardware upgrade to the two machines connected to the switch, but they are both running xp as before.

can these switches develop faults?
is it on OS problem?
it happens even with only one of the computers on the switch running

Click to expand...

Yes and it's call duff ports or ports going bad or are bad. The signs are if you had 10/100/1000 and connect a 1000mbps to the port the switch port on the switch would throttle down to 100mbps only or just send bad packet. The same duff ports can on your PCI Bus card or PCI-E Bus card also. Your suppose to do a trace-tone to check if the ports are bad. The switch or NIC should tell you also. Either the light is out or is not showing activity.

Best to just replace the switch or hub or NIC. Also note sometimes the Ethernet cable can cause issues too. Good to check the those also.